Prediction For Monday's Championship Game

(It's about time Danny Green got some picture props on here)

After the UConn Huskies ruined my chances of winning just one NCAA Tournament Pool (damn you R.B.), it's time to focus on North Carolina vs. Michigan State. College basketball's title game is so different than the Super Bowl in that there's only 48 hours to hype up and discuss the game. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I'm leaning towards good...because if I have to hear about the '79 title game between Magic and Bird one more time, I seriously might lose it.

How is a Big East team not in the Championship game? How did North Carolina lose to a team that lost to Harvard this season? How many times will Magic Johnson be shown in the stands during this game (I'm putting the over/under at 5.5)? Who knows. What I DO know is the winner of this year's NCAA title, and my prediction is as follows:

North Carolina over Michigan State

Reasons:

• If you think that there is a "home court" advantage for Michigan State playing in Detroit...you're clinically insane. There's gonna be a bunch of random middle-aged white guys at this game, the press, and some empty seats. Yeah...that bodes really well for Michigan State. (I'm going back to the well on this one!)
• Let's see...Ty Lawson, Danny Green, Lil Wayne Ellington, Deon Thompson, Tyler Hansbrough, Ed Davis, etc., etc., etc.
• Anna Lou NEEDS her first March Madness experience to end in a Tar Heel championship! This will give her the taste of victory early and set the tone for the rest of her Carolina Blue life!
  
• My goodness...it's already been 4 years since the North Carolina Tar Heels won a National Championship. Doesn't it seem like they're a little overdue at this point?
• A bunch of these UNC players came back for another year to win the NCAA title and cut down the nets. When decisions like this are made at the college level, karma is involved and good things happen. Just look at that Florida team a few years ago.
• TALENT TRUMPS HEART (AND HOME COURT)!!! TALENT TRUMPS HEART (AND HOME COURT)!!! TALENT TRUMPS HEART (AND HOME COURT)!!!
• Robert Morris University was tied at 30 with Michigan State more than halfway through the first half in their opening round game. Now I love my alma mater, but MSU won't be able to play their rope-a-dope style against the fun-and-gun style of UNC.
• If things like "destiny" and "the team is playing in their home state" are the best reasons to go with Michigan State...the Spartans are in serious trouble.
  
• North Carolina missed 15 free throws, got beat on the boards by five, lost the game in the paint by 10, second-chance points by three and even got beat on the fast break. And still beat Villanova by 14 points. Yeah...the Tar Heels are good.
• Tyler Hansbrough is finally going to cut down the nets...and Billy Packer is going to be crying himself to sleep tonight, wishing he could have been there.
• Going with UNC to win it all allows me to wish Liz and Emily the best of luck along with giving them props. If a certain someone kept getting props while Villanova kept winning, this is only fair. (P.S. Props to you John L. as well, if you're actually still reading this thing)
  
• Mega Star Ty Lawson deserves this! He's amazing!
• Roy Williams wore a Kansas Jayhawks button/pin during last year's title game. Kansas won the national championship. I figure this was good practice for Coach Williams. As long as he wears something related to UNC during this year's title game, his squad is a shoe-in to win it all.
• I can't defend a Big 10 team, I just can't. It does not make one bit of sense with regard to logic and reason.
• Seriously, North Carolina is really really good.
• Confidence in this pick: 9.5

0201

Big East & ACC Awards - "We Represent"

In order to inform and provoke, I've decided to list all of the notable awards for both the Big East and ACC. Interestingly enough, Dejuan Blair and Hasheem Thabeet SHARE the award for Big East Player of the Year. Ty Lawson beats out teammate Tyler Hansbrough for Player of the Year in the ACC, adding merit to my point that Lawson is more important to UNC's success than Hansbrough. Many of the readership's favorite teams are represented in these awards. Pitt and UNC do quite nicely for themselves (although Levance Fields dropping to the third team is a crime). Villanova and Notre Dame also show up, earning various kudos. (Could Jay Wright have won coach of the year without being photographed next to Lydia Cate? Probably not.) Please enjoy and argue. It's been a great season so far, but it's just getting started.

(Dejuan Blair flings a hapless Hasheem Thabeet)

Big East

All-Big East First Team

• Sam Young, Pittsburgh, F, Sr.
• Dejuan Blair, Pittsburgh, C, So.
• Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut, C, Jr.
• Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, F, Jr.
• Terrence Williams, Louisville, F, Sr.
• Jerel McNeal, Marquette, G, Sr.

All-Big East Second Team

• A.J. Price, Connecticut, G, Sr.
• Wesley Matthews, Marquette, G, Sr.
• Jonny Flynn, Syracuse, G, So.
• Dante Cunningham, Villanova, F, Sr.
• De'Sean Butler, West Virginia, F, Jr.

All-Big East Third Team

• Levance Fields, Pittsburgh, G, Sr.
• Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati, G. Jr.
• Jeff Adrien, Connecticut, F, Sr.
• Earl Clark, Louisville, G/F, Jr.
• Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall, G, So.

Honorable Mention

• Scottie Reynolds, Villanova, G, Jr.
• Alex Ruoff, West Virginia, G, Sr.
• Dominique Jones, USF, G, Jr.
• Weyinmi Efejuku, Providence, G, Sr.
  

Players of the year:

• Dejuan Blair (Pittsburgh) & Hasheem Thabeet (Connecticut)

Rookie of the Year - Greg Monroe (Georgetown)

Coach of the Year - Jay Wright (Villanova)

Defensive Player of the Year - Hasheem Thabeet (Connecticut)

Most Improved Player - Dante Cunningham (Villanova)

Sixth Man Award - Corey Fisher (Villanova)

Sportsmanship Award - Alex Ruoff (West Virginia)

Scholar Athlete of the Year - Alex Ruoff (West Virginia)

(Ty Lawson in flight.....Afternoon Delight)

ACC

All-ACC First Team

• Ty Lawson, North Carolina, G, Jr.
• Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina, F, Sr.
• Toney Douglas, Florida State, G, Sr.
• Jack McClinton, Miami, G, Sr.
• Gerald Henderson, Duke, G/F, Jr.

All-ACC Second Team

• Jeff Teague, Wake Forest, G, So.
• Trevor Booker, Clemson, F/C, Jr.
• Tyrese Rice, Boston College, G, Sr.
• Kyle Singler, Duke, F, So.
• Greivis Vasquez, Maryland, G, Jr.

All-ACC Third Team

• James Johnson, Wake Forest, F, So.
• Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech, G, So.
• A.D. Vassalo, Virginia Tech, G/F, Sr.
• Danny Green, North Carolina, G/F, Sr.
• Gani Lawal, Georgia Tech, F, So.

Honorable Mention

• Wayne Ellington, North Carolina, G, Jr.
• K.C. Rivers, Clemson, G/F, Sr.
• Sylven Landesberg, Virginia, G, Fr.

Player of the Year -

• Ty Lawson (North Carolina)

Rookie of the Year - Sylven Landesberg (Virginia)

Coach of the Year - Leonard Hamilton (Florida State)

Defensive Player of the Year - Toney Douglas (Florida State)

0201

Duke at North Carolina Running Diary (for a half)

(Anna Lou...UNC Class of 2030, not Holy Cross)

Due to circumstances beyond my control (my car is a joke and needed to be taken in immediately), I could not keep a running diary of the entire Duke vs. UNC game. So instead...I'm coming at you with great alacrity for the second half! Did you know these two schools are separated by only 8 miles? Fascinating! Seriously, this should be a great one. Duke leads the Tar Heels 39-38...and that's only because mega-star UNC guard Ty Lawson clanked the front end of a one-and-one right before the half ended. I have a few questions that will hopefully be answered in the second half: How many times will the announcers reference the game two years ago when Gerald Henderson broke Tyler Hansbrough's nose? Will Duke ever flirt with a whiteout...having 3 or possibly 4 white players on the floor at one time? What will the dynamic be between Chaz and Liz during this game as Liz cheers and screams the Tar Heels onto victory as Chaz listens to Holy Cross play Colgate on the internet? Will the winner have the inside track on a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament? Let's see what happens...

16:57 remaining - UNC 43, Duke 41 - Danny Green makes a three-pointer to give UNC the lead again. This is followed by a missed three-pointer by Kyle Singler of Duke...which leads to a nifty pull up jumper by mega star Ty Lawson to cap a 7-0 run by North Carolina. This forces Coach K to take a timeout and the crowd to go nuts.

15:40 remaining - UNC 45, Duke 44 - Anna Lou (pictured above) has already experienced her first UNC/Duke game with last month's 101-87 North Carolina victory. But this is her first UNC/Duke HOME game. This must provide some good karma for Tar Heel Nation.

14:58 remaining - UNC 46, Duke 44 - Hansbrough commits his second foul in about 10 seconds, hacking Gerald Henderson as he drove to the hoop. This gives the white Tyler three fouls for the game. I'm just waiting for Hansbrough to say, "nobody makes me bleed my own blood" with regard to Henderson in the post game press conference.

14:12 remaining - UNC 48, Duke 47 - Mega star Ty Lawson commits a turnover that results in a Duke bucket. What is he trying to do, make me look like an idiot?!? I'm the one pimping the fact that he's more important to UNC's success than Hansbrough! Don't prove me wrong Lawson!

13:18 remaining - UNC 53, Duke 48 - Lil Wayne Ellington makes a three-pointer for UNC, but that's not why I'm writing this entry. Remember in last year's Championship game when Kansas played Memphis and Coach Williams was wearing that Kansas pin? That was freaking weird, huh?

12:12 remaining - UNC 55, Duke 51 - Kyle Singler may look weird, but that kid can shoot. He breaks an ice cold slump by hitting a three. He now has 18 points in the ballgame...hitting 4 of 7 three pointers. He still looks odd, not as odd as Greg Paulus though.

10:57 remaining - UNC 57, Duke 51 - Lawson turns it over again. I look like an idiot. His not-so-good entry pass to Hansbrough was telegraphed, says Clark Kellogg. And damn it, he was right.

9:15 remaining - UNC 59, Duke 55 - If you haven't already seen the HBO Special titled: Battle For Tobacco Road - Duke vs. North Carolina, I recommend it very much. If for no other reason, you should see it for the sequence where Coach K and Dean Smith are yelling back and forth during a game...which results in Coack K screaming, "FUCK YOU DEAN!" Very good stuff. Not to mention that HBO's sports productions are always of the highest quality.

8:03 remaining - UNC 61, Duke 55 - Danny Green makes a nice pull up jumper after a Duke turnover. Carolina is shooting 58% for the game and that number has to be even higher for the second half. Another thing I have on my mind...why did Tyler Zeller come back this season? I'm being serious here...can a UNC fan out there explain this to me? What value does he have to the team this season? Couldn't he have taken a red shirt this season and start next year as a very experienced "freshman"? I'm confused. Three Tylers on one team is a lot too.

6:45 remaining - UNC 65, Duke 58 - Hansbrough hits two free throws. Apparently he has some record with regard to free throws. Did UNC senior Mike Copeland really start this game? Liz...I'm looking in your direction to answer this question. If Coach Williams really played a scrub senior and prioritized Senior Day over his regular starting lineup in such a big game...he just gained some huge points in my book. Then again, maybe he didn't start and ESPN's facts are just wrong. If that's the case...i just wasted a lot of time typing this. Copeland's only stats for the game are two fouls against. At least he got to play for UNC.

5:05 remaining - UNC 65, Duke 63 - I missed too much writing that last entry! Announcer Jim Nantz said, "I'm not a bracketologist, but I'd like to be". Henderson leads a fast break down the court for Duke and throws down a dunk to make it a two point game again.

3:09 remaining - UNC 73, Duke 68 - Ridiculous sequence over the last few minutes. UNC got the lead back up to 7...Duke cuts the lead to 2 points (again) on a Jon Scheyer three-pointer...then Danny Green bumps the lead back up to 5 on a three pointer of his own (assist to Ty Lawson!). This is good stuff. ACC basketball has it's moments.

1:59 remaining - UNC 73, Duke 68 (still) - Jim Nantz is ok...but I was just wondering...where is Gus Johnson to call a game of this magnitude?!? Has he ever done a Duke vs. UNC game? How outstanding would he be in this situation?

55.1 remaining - UNC 78, Duke 69 - Lots of stuff happened again, mostly good for UNC. I can start calling Ty Lawson "Mega Star" again. He converted an old-school three point play...followed by two foul shots which pushed the UNC lead to 9. Lawson has 9 assists on the game and is 9 of 10 from the foul line. Clark Kellogg points out that the difference in the second half was that UNC had Ty Lawson, and Duke didn't. Well then.

13.8 remaining - UNC 79, Duke 69 - #50 Tyler Hansbrough fouls out...giving him the opportunity to leave the court on Senior Day to a standing ovation. White Ty finishes the game with 17 points and 8 rebounds. No blood on his nose, face, or jersey. It really does seem like he's been there forever. Love him or hate him, he certainly made his mark on ACC basketball and will be a UNC legend for ages.

Game Over - UNC 79, Duke 71 - The Tar Heels win again. Bring on the bragging rights! Will these teams meet next weekend in the ACC Tournament? Probably. This game didn't seem as chippy as I thought it might be. Maybe that's the style of these particular teams...or maybe that's just how the game played out. I'm glad that Mega Star Ty Lawson redeemed himself and made me look quasi-smart. I will say that I'm looking forward to watching more ACC games. It seems that this league (at the top) is the only Conference that can rival the intensity and skill of the Big East. However...it's hard to think that any rivalry can top this one. It's the Battle for Tobacco Road after all. Speaking of which...it's time for a smoke. Be well.

0201